Don Martin: The fall guy could be the general who suspended Mark Norman

It has been said that the boy of the fall could be the general who suspended Mark Norman. In this way, it is considered that Vice Admiral Mark Norman’s claim comes with a possible victim. The Chief of Defense Staff, Jonathan Vance, comes out of this mess set to be a kind of fall.

Thus, it emphasizes some Vance behaviors by which certain conclusions are drawn. That being said, it was said that it was Vance, acting on the slightest shadow of suspicion, who quickly threw Norman under the proverbial LAV. Likewise, it was Vance who publicly stated that he had lost confidence in Norman’s performance, suspending his alleged friend and second in command without a hearing. Coupled with that, it was Vance who insisted that the media report that he was furious with his officers for not having dug up the documents with the code name needed by Norman’s defense, only to admit under oath that he had not done much to accelerate the search.

Similarly, it was also Vance who informed his political masters when the Norman controversy broke out, but he refused to take note of any conversation, including one with the Prime Minister. In addition, Vance seemed too eager to serve as Norman’s firing squad to appease a PMO enraged by a flight that would normally be quite routine.

Beyond questionable behaviors

Now, let’s talk beyond that questionable behavior, Vance is simply not an aggressive defender of his own army. When it comes to protesting against the F-35 aircraft hunting program in danger of extinction, the capacity gap created in the air force, the disorder in the acquisition of shipbuilding or a bypassed army to increase the budget, we hear only the sounds of silence.

In this way, it has been suggested that Jonathan Vance be replaced by a general who will publicly demand a solution instead of combat aircraft, that regains the course of shipbuilding and firmly defends the forces against a government that is not really with them in spirit or expense. In fact, it has been suggested that his replacement be someone like Mark Norman.